1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a data control apparatus, an image forming system, a data control method and a recording medium recorded therein a data control program. More specifically, the present invention relates to technologies to improve consciousness for energy saving in image forming apparatus, and to effectively promote the energy saving of the image forming apparatus, by giving an incentive or a negative incentive to a user with respect to a job execution order and/or memory usage amount, based on a number of power-on times of the image forming apparatus.
2. Background Technology
In recent years, an image forming apparatus provided with multiple functions such as a printer, facsimile, and a scanner has been commonly used. To the image forming apparatus, a plurality of computers are connected via a network, and based on a job transmitted from each computer, prescribed processing such as a printing is executed by the image forming apparatus. Relating to such configured image forming system, a technology is proposed in which, in cases where main power source of the image forming apparatus is in OFF state, by making its main power source to be ON state by remote operation of the computer to allow the warming up of the image forming apparatus in order to shorten a first printout time (see Patent Document 1: JP2002-182885A).
Further, for the purpose of reducing power consumptions of the image forming apparatus, recent image forming apparatus is provided with a power saving mode for suppressing the power consumption of the image forming apparatus. By setting this power saving mode, after a certain time period has elapsed form a completion of a print job and the like, the image forming apparatus automatically switches to the power save mode, and power saving of the image forming apparatus is achieved. Further, in the power saving mode, when receiving a job signal from the computer, the image forming apparatus returns from the power saving mode to power-on state.
However, in the image forming system described in the above mentioned Patent Document 1, there are following problems. In a common image forming apparatus, since the power-ON state continues until the user directly puts the power of the image forming apparatus into power-OFF state, useless power may be consumed more than necessary, which is a problem. For example, cases may be happen that even after putting the image forming apparatus in ON state, there is no job to be executed for some period, or that the power of image forming apparatus is turned on even with no job to be executed being available. While, there may be a case that even in the image forming apparatus having been set in power saving mode, since the image forming apparatus is in power ON state until its setting time, the useless power may be consumed until its switching time, which is a problem.
The present invention is achieved in view of the above described problems, and the objective is to provide a data control apparatus, an image forming system, a data control method and a recording medium recorded therein a data control program which enable to effectively promote the energy saving of the image forming apparatus.